An Alpha's Choice (Talon Pack #2)(42)

“Don’t yell at him,” Hannah whispered. “Get him inside and call Maddox. Now.” Her voice grew stronger with each word, and the men did as they were told. Finn wasn’t sure he’d made the right choice by coming here. He wasn’t sure he could stand to see a true triad working as a mating when he couldn’t even make it work with one woman. One woman who held the strength of thousands.

“Come on, Finn,” Reed said softly. “You look like you were beaten.”

Josh was on the phone with Maddox as he led Hannah back into the house.

“I wish that were all,” Finn whispered. “I f*cking wish it was just a simple beating.” He opened the car door, his limbs heavy. He tried to swallow, only to find his mouth dry.

“We’ll take care of it,” Reed said firmly, putting his arm around Finn’s shoulders. “Let’s get you inside, okay?”

Finn didn’t answer but let Reed carry some of his weight. His heart hurt, and he knew Brynn had to be feeling worse. That just made it all crash down harder on him. It was as if he’d been knocked in the head with a two-by-four, his brain not fully catching up to what was going on around him. Reed set him down on their couch before squeezing his shoulder and leaving him to stare at the wall in front of him. Finn didn’t like this numbness, the lack of ability to do anything but remember to breathe and pray there was a way out of this situation.

He wasn’t normally this person. If there was a problem, he found a way to fix it. If there was a fight to be fought, he led the charge. He didn’t like the fact that felt so defeated, was acting so dejected. If he didn’t get his head out of his ass, he would lose Brynn in truth. She’d push him away harder than she already had, and he wouldn’t even have the option of finding away to make their mating work.

What he needed was to fix the bond with his wolf. Then he could be with Brynn until the end of their days.

The world needed the two of them. Their Packs needed them. They’d be stronger together than they’d ever be apart. He’d seen that during the past year when they’d been working side by side on their mission. He might have thought she hated him, but it couldn’t have been further from the truth. She’d just been trying to work out how she would stand next to him and know he wouldn’t feel the potential bond he should. Or perhaps she didn’t know that at all, maybe she though he just didn’t want her. He couldn’t blame her for her hostility toward him all this time, nor could he fault her for the mixed messages she’d sent recently. Everything had truly gone to shit and now he knew why.

Someone sat next to him on the couch and he inhaled their scent. Hannah. She didn’t lean into him or even touch him. She merely sat next to him, letting him know she was there. She was an earth witch, not a wolf, but she was Pack. Her life was tied to Reed’s as Josh’s was through their mating bond. She’d been brought in as their Healer, and soon, she’d step back and allow Finn’s brother Mark to hold the mantle.

He cleared his throat then looked down at himself. He smelled of Brynn and sex, only wore a pair of sweat pants, and had a fresh bite mark on his shoulder. It probably looked as if he needed his head examined since he’d come to their place first, rather than his own home. But he hadn’t thought of going to his place with Charlotte. There was nothing she could do but try to help him through whatever this was. But Hannah had Healed him once before. It might not have taken as it should have, but there had to be something she could do now. If not? Then he wasn’t sure what he’d do next.

All he knew was that he’d walked out of Brynn’s place to let her breathe because he would do anything to keep from hurting her. But that didn’t mean he’d given up on her. She’d given up because she’d already had a year to work through this, a year to die a little more inside. This was new to him, but damn if he’d give up right. He couldn’t.

“Drink this,” Reed said, and Finn looked up. “It’s just water,” his uncle continued. “After you rehydrate, we’ll get you the harder stuff if you want it.”

“And it looks like you might need it,” Josh said from the other side of the room. The former human, now half-demon, crossed his arms over his chest and frowned. “You want to tell us what happened? Or do you just need to sit and be with family? We’re fine with whatever.”

“What my knucklehead mate means is, do you need anything?” Hannah asked, her voice soft. “What can we do for you? We love you, Finn. Do you want us to call your folks? Call Charlotte? Or even Brie?”

Finn shook his head then gulped down the water in one go. The cool liquid soothed his parched throat. He hadn’t realized how dehydrated he was until he’d finished the glass and found himself still thirsty. Reed handed him another glass he hadn’t seen in his uncle’s hand, and Finn drank it a little slower.

“I wanted to come here because…well, because that’s what my brain did when I went into autopilot.” He shrugged, knowing he was being vague and that he had to get into specifics. The more he thought about it though, the more he thought he might have made a mistake by coming here. Hannah was a gentle soul, even with the powers and strength of a warrior earth witch. She might have guessed part—if not all—of what had happened to him, but stating the words outright would hurt her.

He’d made a mess of everything, but now he needed to move on and work through it because Brynn deserved better than a broken wolf and the heavy absence of a mating bond.